“White House announces there will be 2 ‘intermissions’ during tonight’s State of the Union.”
Joe Biden’s State of the Union lasted more than an hour. There were no ‘intermissions’
If your time is short
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There were no intermissions during President Joe Biden’s March 7 State of the Union address, and the White House never announced there would be.
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The claim originated with an X post written by Sean Spicer, former press secretary for former President Donald Trump. Spicer said the post was a joke.
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President Joe Biden’s March 7 State of the Union address lasted about one hour and seven minutes.
During the speech, Biden occasionally paused for applause or diverged from his planned remarks to spar with GOP lawmakers in the audience.
But there was no intermission, despite a social media post’s claim that Biden’s team was planning untraditional pauses in the speech.
“White House announces there will be 2 ‘intermissions’ during tonight’s State of the Union,” read an X post screenshot shared March 7 on Instagram. That X post, also dated March 7, was written by Sean Spicer, former press secretary to former President Donald Trump.
Spicer posted on X at 9:41 a.m. Eastern Time and clarified soon after that it was a joke — but not before social media users moved to share the post without context.
Not long after Spicer’s initial post, another X user asked: “Is this a joke? Please say this is a joke.”
Spicer replied: “Joke right now. But I won’t put it past them.”
(Screenshot from X.)
Images of his X post that did not make clear it was a joke were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
(Screenshot from Instagram.)
“So the docs said he doesn’t need a cognitive exam and he’s not too old…” read the caption on the Instagram post, referring to Biden’s recent physical. “But they will need to break this state of the union up.”
As they pursue second terms, both Biden, 81, and Trump, 77, face concern from voters over their respective ages and health and fitness.
As for claims about a State of the Union pause, however, we found no news reports or announcements on White House communication channels that Biden would have any intermission during his address.
Since Biden’s speech has happened, we can also confirm: There was no intermission.
We rate this claim Pants on Fire!
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Our Sources
Instagram post, March 7, 2024
Sean Spicer’s post on X, March 7, 2024
Sean Spicer’s post on X, March 7, 2024
The American Presidency Project, Length of State of the Union Addresses in Minutes (from 1964), accessed March 8, 2024
NPR, Recent gaffes by Biden and Trump may be signs of normal aging — or may be nothing, Feb. 14, 2024
The Guardian, Majority of voters think Biden is too old to be effective president, new poll says, March 3, 2024
Missouri Independent, Worried Biden and Trump are too old to be president? Calm down, experts on aging say, Feb. 16, 2024
NBC News, Biden’s age and fitness top the list of voters’ concerns, poll finds, Feb. 6, 2024
The White House, Remarks by President Biden in State of the Union Address, March 7, 2024
USA Today, A State of the Union intermission? False claim circulates ahead of address | Fact check, March 7, 2024
Snopes, False White House Announced 2 Intermissions for Biden's State of the Union?, March 7, 2024
